:: Rob Rossi is up to his old tricks. [ Trib ]
He says Hossa is on vacation and will look over the deal when he gets back.

But this:

"General manager Ray Shero and Hossa's agent, Ritchie Winter, have discussed parameters of the Penguins' best offer - likely a seven-year deal worth near $50 million. The length of that deal remains a talking point between the parties, but the Penguins are not likely to offer more than a minimal increase on Hossa's current $7 million salary."

Only question for Rossi: Is this a editorial, or is this a hard news article?
Is there anyone better than Rossi at adding his own take to an article that is supposed to be a news article, not an opinion piece?
That's journalism 101, joke.

And likely according to who?
Because you also said this:

"Shero is not commenting on offseason dealings."
--Rob Rossi, June 18, 2008

Maybe that is the deal.
We'll issue a public apology to Rossi if he is right.

But just so we are clear, even though this is getting old,
journalists here in Pittsburgh are actually making stuff up now.
Good times.

"Why would Hossa be waiting to accept or reject? Whenever a timeframe is in a rumour it gets murky. It implies something else is happening..something bigger... And how about all the recent Malkin talk? We have heard nothing but Malkin trade talk for three straight days from some really high up Pens writers."

Shit

:: [ TSN ] has been publishing off-season outlook plans for each team.
The Penguins' was released today.

They give players ratings that were evidently pulled out of someone's buttcrack.
Yeah, Kris Beech...better than Staal.

In Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS between the Marlins and Braves,
Gregg may very well have been on acid.

His strike zone for Marlins' pitcher Livan Hernandez was insane.
Gregg was punching out dudes that were still in the minors.
Hernandez finished the game with 15 K's.

***********************************************************

GOLFWhoops, not a sport

***********************************************************

BASKETBALLIt's definitely been proven that NBA officials can dictate a game.
People are so apathetic about the NBA that they probably didn't bother looking up the atrocities on YouTube.

But here it is.

************************************************************

FOOTBALL

With the amount of money thrown around in Vegas from September to January,
you'd think it would be impossible that there wasn't a crooked official out there.

On that same token, all the kashe
is why a crooked official would be spotted a mile away.
Picture: Bill Cowher losing a big game.

They could call holding on every play from scrimmage, anyway.

*************************************************************

HOCKEY

As Larry Brooks pointed out yet again in a recent column,
it seemed that officials were biased towards the Penguins in the playoffs. [ Brooks Joke ]

He makes no mention of Fleury shutting down his Rangers.
And if the fix was in, why didn't the Penguins win the Cup?
He starts an argument with some facts, realized his column was a mess, and just went to bed.
Horrible.

Anyway, we've all watched games that left us wondering what the refs were thinking.
They certainly are in position to dictate the ebb and flow of a game.
But the market for NHL gambling is poop.
A ref may hate a team, but he's not profiting from a job financially.

I figured I'd check up on c-blog because I wasn't able to get to the computer last night. After reading through the last post, I was actually mad that I didn't get a chance to contribute. Oh well. Anyhoooo...*************

HEY BEAV...

Fourth of July. Waldameer Park. I'll be there.

Back in 2004, my cousin decided to have a huge family picnic there...he rented a pavilion, decked it all out in a luau/tiki party theme and invited pretty much the whole Erie-based family and our family friends and stuff. We had an absolute blast.

All he asked was for each family member to bring one side dish, dessert or whatever. He went out and bought a whole crapload of chicken from Erie County Farms which was promptly barbecued on the grill. People could do whatever they wanted to do...hang out at the pavilion, ride the rides, head over to the water park, whatever. For the most part, everyone got to see each other because we had all day there. We got there at like 11:00 AM and stayed all the way through to watch the fireworks.

We did this in 2004 and in 2005, both on Fourth of July weekend. It went by the wayside in 2006 and 2007 for various reasons, but it's being resurrected this year. I'm ridiculously close with my extended family in Erie, and we still talk about how much fun the luaus in 2004 and 2005 were.

I would LOVE to do a variation on this for the c-blog Kennywood get-together.

The best way to make someone a fan of the game is to take them to one. I got hooked on hockey for good in the very late 1980s when I was like 13 or 14 and my uncle used to take me to Erie Panthers games. And that stuff was about as asstastic as minor-league hockey got...a decided step down from the AHL and IHL at the time (that's back when the IHL was still a big deal).

My mom and dad went to their first NHL game this past season. They went to a game in Buffalo and they were absolutely hooked. They watched the Pens in the playoffs and stuff, and now they can't wait to get down to Pittsburgh next season to see a game. They want to see Crosby and Malkin in person.

I know there is not much credence to the vast number of UFA rumors out there, but I wanted folks thoughts on the following if at all true.

According to Rossi on Stan's FSN show the other night, Fleury is asking for around $6mil.

Here is a link to goalie salaries for 06/07 season (couldn't find last season).....http://www.blackhawkzone.com/salaries/goalies.htm.

Given those figures, do you think Fleury is on or above the level of Brodeur, Luongo, Nabokov, etc...goalies who have for numerous years put forth consistent performances?

Don't get me wrong, I think Fleury is worth more than he's getting right now, particularly after the SCF game 5 brilliance. But is he really worth $6mil right now? Especially when we are trying to hang on to players like Brooksy, who we don't have a replacement for in our current lineup or even down in WBS?

@ colin - Actually, you indirectly make a good argument for why a goalie shouldn't get money based solely on one playoff run/award nomination.

I love MAF. He's my favorite current Pens player and is already in my top five favorite Pens of all time. But 6MM over that kind of long-term deal is not really appropriate just yet. I have no doubts that all that he's going to be worth that kind of money eventually, but it's just too risky right now.

Fleury might be asking for $6M per year, just like Malone might be asking for $6-7M per year when he starts his UFA discussions.

But that doesn't mean either of them will get what they're respectively asking.

Luongo's cap hit is $6.75M. Lundqvist's cap hit will jump to $6.875M next year. Nabokov is less than $5.5M. Brodeur and Cam Ward - goalies who have accomplished more than Fleury has at this point - each come in at $5.2M and $2.67M respectively. That should level everything out.

Fleury will probably ask for $6M; the Pens will offer in the $3.5-4.0M range. I think they both settle in somewhere around the $4.5-5.0M range in terms of an annual cap hit.

Hockey contracts and football contracts are completely different animals. Football contracts are not necessarily guaranteed (most aren't), so the Steelers could (and probably will at some point) cut Roethlisberger and not have to pay him any more than what's guaranteed money in his contract.

Hockey contracts are guaranteed, and the Pens would have to continue eating Fleury's salary against the cap if they bought him out at some point.

Point is, comparing an NHL contract against an NFL contract is not exactly a fair and valid comparison.

The Pens just need to make sure they have a backup they trust so they don't run MAF out there 76 times in the regular season and have him wear out like Ryan Miller did this season.

I don't think there's a risk of Fleury getting a gigantic contract right now, because he's not yet an elite goalie. $3.5-4 million sounds about right for a goalie of his current production and developmental level.

Forget Rossi...how about the guy from Columbus? According to that Columbus Dispatch blog, there was a deal that the Pens and Jackets were on the verge of announcing as early as last night.

And it's funny how three days after he writes about the offer from the Pens being presented to Hossa, we now learn from Rossi that Hossa has been on vacation and hasn't reportedly even seen the offer yet.

Alright, in reading about these notes on other sports, it got me thinkin'.

Which one is the best? No brainer. Hockey.

I mean, in what other sport could someone, from Pittsburgh, watch an entire playoff series between San Jose and Dallas and be legitimately excited? In what other sport are there no rumors about rampant steroid use and corrupt officiating? Oh, and YOU'RE ON SKATES!!

Here's my take on baseball:America's pastime....not like the Puritans, mind you, more like Al Capone. Alex Rodriguez makes around thirty million a year. That's almost as much as an entire teams payroll in the NHL. This guy, in his own little world, is worth more than some third world countries. NHL, best player makes either 8.7 or 11.4(if you think best players also must be deushbags). Oh, and they don't need steroids to get into the record books, eh Barry Bonds?

Basketball:"The reason why I don't like it is that I hate guys who get paid more than me and sweat less." - Brendan Shanahan on the game of basketball, November 1988

Football: Well, being a Steelers fan first I can honestly say that when it comes to football, that's all I am, a Steelers fan. Football consists of the most arrogant group of players I have ever seen. And, it more about brute force and size than actual precise movement and timing. Yes, I understand receivers and quarterbacks have to have timing, but in hockey EVERYONE needs timing. If you're into big guys hitting each other on a constant basis, with a thirty second rest in between, then watch this sport.

Golf-Hockey players play this in their OFFSEASON, as a HOBBY. Tiger Woods, that fact speaks more than fourteen majors ever could.

To conclude this rant, I must admit that the only reason I have pondered this subject is because of how pissed off I am about the lack of coverage hockey gets and the amount of integrity the game of Hockey has. When you watch ESPN all you hear about is basketball, baseball and football and nonsensical nicknames all the time. It's annoying, and living in Florida that's all I have to hear about all the time. So, to counterbalance that, every time someone mentions any of those sports to me, I do what tPB did last year. I "job" these guys with a reference to Gary Roberts. For example:

"I think Boston has a good chance at the Title this year"

"Only if they trade for Gary Roberts"

"Who does he play for?"

"Blood"

So to all those hockey fans here, respect the integrity of this game. Just looking at the other games there are to watch, there isn't too many that can match what the NHL has to offer.

So here's the shitstorm of a day that I'm having. I'm sitting in my office looking out on the showroom of new Volvo's and in walks this douche to pick up his new car. Wearing a fucking Red Wings Jersey.

Josef Melichar is attracting some interest from the New York Rangers.The 30-year-old rearguard played all of this past season in the Swedish Elite League. Melichar has not played hockey in the NHL since 2006-2007 when he suited up for the Penguins.

I think I told this story a while back, but I'm sure it's buried deep in the comments of a post from last month, so here goes again:

My wife and I went up to Pennsylvania over Memorial Day weekend -- one of my cousins was getting married -- and the day after the wedding (and the day after Game 1 of the Cup Finals) we went to Pittsburgh for the Pirates-Cubs game. It was the game that the Bucs won in 11 after Soriano dropped the fly ball that would've ended the game and Brian Bixler scored the tying run. Early on in the game, we went to get food, and we passed a kid (probably 14 or so) wearing a Red Wings jersey and a Cubs hat. I've never wanted to punch someone in the throat more in my life, and I think the people around me would've all said he'd swung at me first if I'd done it. That little fucker needed a good whomping.

"I don't understand why I can't hit that ball. I mean it's this big, slow, ball & I just can't hit the thing. Maybe if I could run the bases with the bat in my hand I would enjoy it more. I could hit players as I go by, you know just a little cuff in the chin & maybe catch the next guy behind the ear." - Brendan Shanahan on softball

"Aww, don't worry Doc. If that happens, I can always come back as a forward!" - Harold Snepsts after being advised by a doctor to wear a helmet to avoid brain damage

"Watching a shootout is like admitting you watch Survivor or search the internet for porn." - Brendan Shanahan

"Empty Net goals are for faggots"-Al Ilfrante

"You know, there's nothing better than making yourself dinner and watching Thursday night TV. Also, I just got a computer. And I'm fanatical about doing the laundry. There's nothing better than a stack of fresh, clean clothes. Except maybe a good movie. You know that creepy-looking guy you stare at two seats behind you, thinking who would come to a movie by himself? That's me." - Brendan Shanahan

I like this last one:

“We know that hockey is where we live, where we can best meet and overcome pain and wrong and death. Life is just a place where we spend time between games.” - Fred Shero

I don't have clear look on this, but it seems hockey players don't get paid that much if you compare it to other sports, which is a shamea hockey player is probably one of the best athletes in (one of) the toughest sports around

Unfortunately, the payment of professional athletes has nothing to do with skill level and athleticism. It all boils down to entertainment value. The only reason professional sports makes any money is because people like you and me are willing to pay money to watch them play. Granted, skill level and athleticism determines the amount that an athlete gets paid, but it's only because the people want to see those of the highest skill. Hockey players get paid less because the sport itself is less of a money maker, it's less popular, probably because the brainless masses are more concerned with basketball and football and other opiates.

That's why I don't understand these nincompoops who can't grasp the concept of pro athletes making such salaries just for playing a game. I want to slap them and tell them its the same reason people get paid to act in Grey's Anatomy and other such rubbish.

As a humble servant of your will I ask only this of thee. Grant on to me your wrath against the piece of shit children of satan that are the sports media. In short dearest god, hows about a courtesy flush?

Really, it's quite fascinating, this relationship between sport and entertainment. I noticed earlier you mentioned about football players being arrogant. The reason for this, I believe, is how much importance we give them as a society, which is evident by how much we pay them. One of the reasons that makes hockey attractive to me is that it hasn't been tainted by amount of money it generates. For the most part, I think professional hockey players are truly playing the sport.

Of course, without compensation, no one would be driven to excel so much at a particular sport, so really, the money has given fans of a sport some really awesome displays of talent over the years. At the same time however, the money kind of pimps the sport out in a way, and gives it an ugly side. Certainly a negative in the eyes of a purist.

Then of course, you have the sports media, which is kind of like your kid brother tagging along on your first date. Or a parasite, leeching. They are an entirely seperate flaming pile of douche.

what a coincidence that you guys put up a barrasso post when yesterday i just found a "Barrasso Says Not!" sign with the shark fin on the back in my basement (which hasn't been cleaned for years) from the 1992 Wales Conference Championship.

the ray shero quote is incredible.hockeyisbetterthanfootballblog: couldnt agree with you guys more. im not sure how anyone who understands hockey could disagree. hockey players are machines and ridiculously in shape whereas football players are sometimes paid to be fat. and when it comes to the guys who play - for the most part hockey players are gracious and polite when approached by a fan. football players expect you to bow down at their feet.

luckily the dentist wasn't as bad as i expected (i have a great dentist, been going to them since i had to, but i'm still afraid one day they're going to tell me "you don't deserve to have teeth" and yank them all). and i got to come home to read the blog, yay!

since i'm a spurs fan, i may as well say something about the phx~sa game 3: welcome to basketball. it doesn't matter who refs the game, they never get it right anymore. i used to go to games with my brother when he lived in town and the whistle would blow and he'd know exactly what happened. these days he'll say the foul, but the whistle is never called. of course it also never helps to go more than 10 minutes without a basket and not play d and then trade for an old out of shape expensive center and get messed up with cap issues, but don't let that stop you from complaining phx fans!

football refs can suck too, but at least they have more replay these days,which sometimes works

as for baseball, eh, i watch the astros and they can't win a game with help, so no opinion there.

I sometimes wonder how Barrasso's daughter is doing. Does anyone know?

Now that I'm not spending a large part of my disposable income on Pens gear, parking and Mellon Arena nachos, I just went to amazon.com and purchased seven CDs, 2 DVDs and five books. The worst part of it is that I went to amazon and not iTunes specifically because I didn't want to spend a fortune and it's too easy for me to lose track of spending when I'm downloading (well, that and the fact that I learned the hard way that it's always a good idea to have your music backed up).

This writer has it right. He was a bit of an ass off the ice, and by a bit I mean a lot, but had a long stretch where he was dominant. I'm doing my best to forget 93 and 96. Sucks that he didn't get in this year, because it's not gonna get any easier in the upcoming years. You have Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Brian Leetch, Alexander Mogilny, Dave Andreychuk, Aleksey Morozov, Peter Bondra, Joe Niewendyk, Pierre Turgeon, Ed Belfour, and that's not including the players like Teemu Selanne who will probably be retiring soon.

It's what pissed me off the whole time everyone was saying that Malkin stepped up after Sid got hurt. That boy stepped up from the start of the season and just got better and better. Yes, he had a few off games. Everyone does. But Malkin was pure Beast all year!

i think the majority of sports fans just dont have the attention span it takes to watch hockey. its a fast game. its a small puck. people just cant handle it. therefore dont get into it.when hockey is on, im sitting still with all eyes on the puck at all times. no messing around. any other sport you have more time to bullshit between and during plays. the american way.

i dont really like basketball, but ill get into it for the sake of partying. the phx suns get jobbed all the time in the playoffs which make for short playoff runs. and less parties.

One thing that has helped immensely for the "casual" hockey fan is games in high definition. Much easier to see the puck and to follow it making my peon friends at home stop complaining long enough to ask stupid questions like why the blue line is called the blue line.

I'm new to the blog and have been addicted ever since my buddy introduced me to the site right before the playoffs...I love it and try to catch it every day. Being down in DC, I catch almost every Pens game down here but don't get to see too many other than the few NBC games they are on. I broke down and got the center ice package for the playoffs and was reminded of how friggin' awesome hockey is and will now be forking over money for the Center Ice package every year, and this site definitely contributed to that!

Anyway, I've noticed the last few days that there was a couple of posts that seemed to me that were jobbing the Steelers. Is there some sort of animosity towards them that I am not aware of towards them here? As a displaced yinzer, it gives me the warm and fuzzies to think all of our teams are loved by all, even the red-headed stepchild Buccos! You gotta love Casey Hampton pounded on the glass after a goal, right?

Anyway, sorry to get off topic...I just wanted to see if there was something I was missing out on in regards to the matter! I love the site, and hopefully as I get my hockey knowledge up to par with my football knowledge I won't be as hesitant to post! Thanks!

@ beavhaha, ye my friends always complain they can not see the puck at all when they watch hockeyand pretty much none of em know the rules either so whatevpretty much nobody to talk hockey with irl, so good thing I found this place

Hahahaha!! The Pensblog Staff = Brilliant! When was the last time you actually deleted comments? The beginning of the season?

Oh My Gary, Gino Vannelli!!! My Mom worshipped that man; I swear I had to listen to him everyday when I was younger ... horrible but funny times ...

@dan: Ha ... I love that part ... Slap Shot is the best ...

I remember when Scuds was getting thrown under the bus last year because he played with Melichar ... and whoever said sucky d-man from our team go to NY forgot Kaspar went there ... Kasparaitis is still awesome (even in Russia.)

Puck Daddy cannot make rude remarks about Bugsy's face-offs! He's a winger! And I'm pretty sure he has won some ... but I know his weaknesses ...

How did Beech have that good of a rating? He didn't even play that many games and broke his wrist ... I refuse to see him as part of the team ...

If anyone thinks Staal is better than Malkin, then they are consuming too much alcohol or are biased ... I know bias when I see it ... whenever I look in the mirror it's staring right back at me (which is probably a reason I should never be a ref in a pro. sport.)

my guess on the Steelers jobbing is that it is what it is: harmless jobbing.

Ben throws picks more often than he should, the Stillers have lost more than their share of post season games, and sometimes it's just easy to pick on the over-obsession that some people (read: the media) have with the Steelers. To me, it's Pens first, with the Steelers a very close 1a.

stoosh - i have this book full of useless hockey stuff, it's called 'uncle johns bathroom reader', the hockey edition. it was written during the lockout so it's missing some neat stuff, but there's a bunch of quotes like the Fred Shero one in there. In fact, there's a brief section all about Fred Shero.

something to look into if you spend a lot of time on the can.

one of the best quotes comes from Kevin Lowe:"I don't want to talk about today's market anymore because nobody can make sense of what the market is. It's all over the map. There's a bunch of lunatics out there throwing money away. I'm sick and tired of it. It's lunacy. Punch me in the head and tell me I'm stupid, but that's the way I feel. There's no sense to it anymore. (2003)"

"Sometimes when I make a good save, I yell out, 'Woo-Hooo!' I'm not sure why, but it just feels good. I don't think I scare anyone or freak anyone out when I do it. I just like to holler when I make a tough stop."

Also own that book, not sure how I feel about the Chuck Norris section though. Seemed to be late-coming to the whole trend of "Fucking Chuck Norris" jokes/worship. And there is a disturbing lack of Gary Roberts.

I agree that hockey is the best sport. Even if you disagree with that, any hockey fan (whether hockey comes first or not) has to agree that it's ridiculously underrated by the majority of Americans.

jobbing the Steelers: Steelers mania could make my life hell. I earned the right to make fun of them. When the Steelers went to the Super Bowl this last time, I was in tenth grade. We had black and gold days. The Friday before the big game, we had no class whatsoever. Everyone face painted and we had fire hall wedding-type food in the courtyard and those Steelers songs were on the intercom ALL DAY. And I got jobbed for not wearing black and gold by what seemed like every single person on the face of the earth. "I hope Pittsburgh wins, but I'm just not a big football fan," I'd say. "HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE FOOTBALL? HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THE STEELERS?!?!! TRAITOR!!!!" No fun.

I've developed a slight interest in it lately, though. And I'm probably buying a Steelers shirt of some kind on general principle to wear when I live in Boston.

Victor: Once again I feel you hit some good points here about society. I think that it's very much the American society that does it. In Canada, it's the hockey players that are revered. I'm not saying that revering one sport over another is a good thing, but I will say that choosing hockey as the best makes logical sense, because of the passion and integrity that comes with it. Not to mention, the actual reverence of the sport itself. In no other game to players shake hands after a grueling defeat. You get an occasional hug between two quarterbacks or something, but rarely anything else. Just look at that MAF quote, that's what hockey is about.

Money ought to be a secondary thing. Simply put, you are being compensated for doing something that is, hopefully in the opinion of the player, that is FUN, earnestly and wholeheartedly fun. To be paid beyond a million dollars to do that is incredible in and of itself. I understand how it has become a business, but to me, it is as much of a dream as it is a business, and I believe most hockey players will admit that.

Black and Gold: Do you think it's right that other sports fan LAUGH at hockey fans? I take that kind of thing personal, when it comes to the GAME of Hockey versus anything else. Any other fan mocking other fans for their passion is ridiculous, and should be verbally assaulted. Frankly, my personal opinion is if you enjoy the other sports that's your opinion, regardless of how I feel about it. But to mock someone else's passion is an insult to character itself. I would get very confrontational at that point.

I will love MAF forever for what he did during the Philly series - namely, skating over to that retard holding the "Spin Like a Ballerina!" sign and actually doing it, thereby rendering the sign and the fan holding it totally impotent. Ha.

What I meant was that having a chip on your shoulder against another sport is stupid.

Trust me, I get a lot of shit for loving hockey as much as I do in a town that some of the cblog HOF'ers nicknamed "The Black Hole of Hockey"

I don't take it personal though.

It's my "Led Zeppelin" theory.

I love Zep, but not everyone does. I do not like Pink Floyd, but lot's of people do.

So if I Pink Floyd fan starts jobbing me about how great Floyd is and how gay Zep is (ridiculous, I know, but it's happened numorous times)... I simply let them job.

But if someone asks why I listen to Zep, I play some of their music and jump around like an idiot getting excited for something they don't quite understand.

Then I break it down to them so they understand.

If they still don't like it, fine.

But most of the time... after having them listen to it after I've explained what's so great about it (Not that Zeppelin needs any explaination IMO), they usually tend to start jumping around screaming like I do.

Don't get me wrong. I love hockey. I think it's bullshit that the effing NBA, WNBA, Women's Softball, Golf, and Spelling get more coverage on ESPN than the NHL does. Mainstream media coverage of hockey his horrible and it should be addressed.

NASCAR has slowly worked its way into mainstream coverage. Hockey will too.

I agree to an extent, but let's face it...everyone wants the most money they can possibly get. I left my last job to take this one for a $10K raise, so I can't even imagine how hard it would be to turn down a raise worth $1MM+. There is loyalty and then there is looking out for your own best interest.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that these guys are lucky to have a job playing the sport that they love, and to be getting paid lots of money to do it. I make a fraction of what they do for a job that I am apathetic about at best, which doesn't seem fair. But when you think about it, I don't have someone coming over to my desk and slamming me into my cubicle walls or slashing my wrists with a stick while I'm putting together a spreadsheet. I don't have to worry about a career ending injury leaving me high and dry (unless you count carpal tunnel) or post-concussion syndrome or bad knees.

They have a limited window of time in which they can play effectively (I'm talking to you, Chris Chelios), so really, I have no problem with them cashing in for everything they can. I do think that some athletes get ridiculous about it - Alex Rodriguez comes to mind - but hey, if someone is willing to pay them exhorbitant sums, they might as well take it.

Page owns my face period. I'm not one to worship any human, but damn. If I ever get married, and he were still up for it, I'd let him father my wife's children. I can't think of anything to write that would do his guitar wizardry justice.

And Led Zeppelin in general is mind blowing. It's just too bad that these days, any jagoff who knows a few powerchords can get famous, just because he throws some politically charged lyrics in. The guitar is a lost art that few up and comers really have a handle on. Jack White is one that comes to mind, but then again, I'm a sucker for anything with a heavy blues influence.

Black and Gold: I completely understand the argument of Zeppelin versus Floyd. However, I am a bit too young to really comprehend the argument, but I will admit that both seem to have decent songs. I just have more passion for hockey than classic rock I suppose. I just think that hockey fans tend to put the game above all else, and that subsequently makes it very important to those who love it. How many people actually visit the respective Hall of Fames for each sport. I am willing to be that the Hockey Hall of Fame beats out the others.

I just don't like hockey being disrespected out of ignorance. I mean, being American I am about forced to know a thing or two about football or baseball(usually that thing is Homerism). However, there are still people who call "periods" quarters. To me, this is a slap in the face to the game itself. That's why I take it personal. It isn't sensitivity, because it doesn't bother me in the same way Max Power thinks. It more or less disrespects the game, and myself, representing the game as a fan, must, as a result, defend it.

Dying Alive: As for money, I agree that the situation is much different when you are involved in it. It becomes clear that capitalism seems only intent on making more money for the parties involved. What I am saying is this: When you play or do something that you love, and with winning comes more enjoyment, would you rather have more money or have peace of mind knowing you hoisted the Holy Grail of Hockey? There was an article by a guy who compared Bugsy to Marty Lapointe. LaPointe left Detroit for more money over in Boston. He hasn't put up the best numbers really either, no where near those in Detroit. Do you think he would have rather stayed in Detroit and won, or gone for an extra three million a year in Boston? I can understand a guy trying to make as much as he can at the best time(Bugsy) available, but at the same time, you really sometimes need to let go of your pride and do what is expected.(Bugsy)

I am an idealist sure, but frankly I prefer that honor than a man of greed. Why do us Pens fans dislike Jaromir so much? To me, more so than his dying alive, it was his want of money. Why don't I like AO? Same thing.

I do buy the "short shelf life" for professional athletes. No professional sport shows an average career length of even 10 years; consider that the average life expentancy of a human being is now over 72, that's very much a short shelf life for a professional athlete. Guys who have 10-15 year careers are the exception, not the rule; for every player who enjoys a long career at the top of their sport, there are a lot of other guys who get just a cup of coffee in the bigs.

Better take the money while you can. Any hockey player is one big hit away from watching the game on TV.

The thing with Bugsy is that I think he is upset because he has put so much in the team and the first person they go after is Hossa. They boy has been with us since birth, and I feel that it isn't just his pride that's hurt but the team he has known his entire life doesn't seem to care. I respect his wishes to get more money but he's gonna have to realize that he will go to a team most likely that was like the Pens before all the talent was brought in.

And I'm tired of hearing about Malone being a big disappointment to the next team he arrives on because he won't produce. You're a joke ... he played with Malkin and Sid, no shit, he's not gonna produce the same. The point of him is in front of the net presence, PKing abilities, his handling (as Bibbs always says soft hands), and his support of his teammates.

MoneyBlog:I think athletes and other such stars have trouble dealing with money ... they gamble with it because they have to much and end up not having enough to support themselves. Plus, they are used to their lifestyle, so anything cheaper makes it "hard" on them.

i have the rookie year sid jersey, the 92 cup artie jersey, a diagonal PITTSBURGH ronnie franchise, and the letang i want is a winter classic (i was at the game and have wanted one since, too pricey back then) after we get malkin inked id like to get one of his from this year with the 250 patch and the cup patch.... ive always wanted a lemieux wales conference all-star jersey but they are real tough to come by

yea i wore the stevens and the crosby most of the year and they got dirtier than philly's stadiums probably are, i need to take them to the cleaners.. im planning on having season tickets next year so i will need to have a better cycle worked out and maybe throw my Gill and Free Candy (if he re-ups) tshirts into the mix

I will most likely never own an actual jersey due to the high prices. I will stick to t-shirts. Right now, I have Roberts and Ruutu, and when Orpik gets nailed down to the Pens, I will gladly let the number 44 rest upon my back.

@ colin: thanks for the link. rob rossi has proved once again why he is a joke.@ joose: gotta love the t-shirts. i have a few as well and i like them because i can wear them when it gets warmer and not sweat my ass off.

Colin, you may have seen it in my oh-so-cool Facebook profile, but my favorite Drama quote is:

"That's not mean. Mean is when I made Jen Mancini ride her bike home after I ass-fucked her." hahaha What person other than him could say something so horrible and still be the kind of person people love? I don't even know what episode that is from, but I need to find out so I can watch it again.

I also don't like jerseys because they are huge...even the smalls. They would go past my knees. I'm only 5'3". I have a Ward Steelers jersey in a kid's XL, which is basically an adult small without the length. If I do get a hockey one, it will be a youth one, too.

CompletelyOff-TopicBlog:Remember our conversation last night on Bret Michaels? Well, apparently he got named to People's Sexy and Single List *vomits repeatedly*

This is from their website *laughs*:The Poison frontman and Rock of Love star thanks his famous blond hair for his luck with the opposite sex. "It creates this Tarzanesque, likable bad-boy image. It says, 'I am a wild child. I will take you on a Harley ride, then make passionate love to you. And should you be attacked by a lion or an idiot at a bar, I will protect you,' " says Michaels, 45. "To put it simply, long hair works for me. It rocks."

it would def be a disgusting show. i think it would be like a car crash - you desperately want to look away but cant quite take your eyes off it. @ ihk - i didnt mean to sound like i thought u considered him sexy. sorry if it sounded that way!

You could never have enough hockey jerseys, especially amongst a community of hockey fans. If it were up to me, my closet would be mostly hockey jerseys.

To be honest, I think hockey jerseys are the nicest-looking ones to wear out in public.

NFL jerseys are OK. I've got a Polamalu Steelers jersey that I got during his rookie year when they still used those ironed-on numbers. Some the numbers have worn off. I actually really liked the 75th Anniv. jerseys they used last year, so if I can find one, I'll replace my Polamalu jersey with one of those.

I don't have any authentic MLB jerseys, but I have a Jason Bay Nike one from a couple of years ago that's black and has red and gold stripes down the shoulders.

I wouldn't be caught dead in an NBA jersey.

My hockey jersey collection is three strong:

- Crosby CCM jersey in white that I got during his rookie year- Black KOHO Pens jersey that I got during the 2003-04 season; blank on the back- White 1980 Miracle on Ice jersey, blank of the back (for now).

My next purchase will be a Winter Classic jersey, most likely with either Malkin, Letang or Roberts. I'm just waiting for the NHL to announce the approval of those as the third jerseys for next year.

I've never watched one second of Bret Michaels's reality show, but it's amazing how some of these guys can't comprehend why people don't take them more seriously.

I grew up with a lot of those bands and their image at the time was reason enough not to take most of them seriously. And luckily most of the ones who were able to maintain their dignity just faded off into relative obscurity...maybe they do an occassional interview for a VH1 special on the history of hair bands or something, but that's about it.

I don't know...maybe a lot of these guys are cool with each other. But I'd have to think if someone like Bret Michaels walked into a room filled with some of his colleagues are still making legitimate music and/or redefined themselves as musicians, his ass is getting laughed out of the room.

...I wasn't gonna say anything, and I probably will regret it later, but the only ones who have a right to stop someone from commenting here is the Staff. Last summer got a little hot. I'd hate to see a repeat. I've been reading this blog for over a year and a half and I love the posts.